Lamont Browne, a three-time UD alumnus and CEO/executive director of EastSide Charter School and Family Foundations Academy, has been selected to receive the Ryan Award, a national award honoring transformational school principals.

During the event, President Barack Obama viewed approximately 33 exhibits of winning student projects, ranging from a robot that plays soccer to a smart toilet that conserves water to an innovative approach to treating cancer, and delivered remarks congratulating these students on their desire to invent and discover.

“We were very excited and proud to hear that Priyen's skill and passion for biotechnology research led to participation in this important event,” says Kelvin Lee, DBI director and Gore Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Delaware.

Patel completed a project that focused on filtering ibuprofen and acetaminophen using various water filters to determine the concentration of drugs in drinking water. Patel’s project is titled “Over-the Counter and In Your Water? The Most Effective Filtration of Pharmaceuticals.”

“Oh, my gosh – what an amazing experience,” said Patel. “All the students were able to view each other’s projects, meet a lot of famous people like Bill Nye the Science Guy, and of course meet the president. I got to shake President Obama’s hand, which is something I never expected. He congratulated me and it was the best experience of my life.”

The president hosted the inaugural White House Science Fair in October 2010, fulfilling a commitment he made at the launch of his Educate to Innovate campaign that aims to move American students from the middle to the top-of-the-pack in science and math achievement over the next decade.

As Obama noted then, “If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you're a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too.”

Local support for the Delaware BioGENEius Challenge in 2011 was provided by AstraZeneca, and the faculty and staff of DBI.

In 2012, AstraZeneca will again support the Delaware BioGENEius Challenge, along with other companies, as well as the faculty and staff of DBI.

DBI is currently coordinating the event through partnerships with the New Castle County Science Expo, the Kent County Science Fair and the Sussex County Science Fair. Delaware students in grades nine through 12 conducting biotechnology research can sign up for the BioGENEius Challenge on the Biotechnology Institute website.